Yeast Particle Encapsulation of Scaffolded Terpene Compounds for Controlled Terpene Release
Ernesto R. Soto,
Florentina Rus,
Hanchen Li,
Carli Garceau,
Jeffrey Chicca,
Mostafa Elfawal,
David Gazzola,
Martin K. Nielsen,
Joseph F. Urban,
Raffi V. Aroian,
Gary R. Ostroff
Affiliations
Ernesto R. Soto
Program in Molecular Medicine, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, MA 01605, USA
Florentina Rus
Program in Molecular Medicine, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, MA 01605, USA
Hanchen Li
Program in Molecular Medicine, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, MA 01605, USA
Carli Garceau
Program in Molecular Medicine, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, MA 01605, USA
Jeffrey Chicca
Program in Molecular Medicine, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, MA 01605, USA
Mostafa Elfawal
Program in Molecular Medicine, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, MA 01605, USA
David Gazzola
Program in Molecular Medicine, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, MA 01605, USA
Martin K. Nielsen
M.H. Gluck Equine Research Center, Department of Veterinary Science, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY 40546, USA
Joseph F. Urban
Beltsville Human Nutrition Research Center, Diet, Genomics and Immunology Laboratory, United States Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, Beltsville, MD 20705, USA
Raffi V. Aroian
Program in Molecular Medicine, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, MA 01605, USA
Gary R. Ostroff
Program in Molecular Medicine, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, MA 01605, USA
Terpenes are naturally occurring compounds produced by plants that are of great commercial interest in the food, agricultural, cosmetic, and pharmaceutical industries due to their broad spectra of antibacterial, antifungal, anthelmintic, membrane permeation enhancement, and antioxidant biological activities. Applications of terpenes are often limited by their volatility and the need for surfactants or alcohols to produce stable, soluble (non-precipitated) products. Yeast particles (YPs) are hollow, porous microspheres that have been used for the encapsulation of terpenes (YP terpenes) by passive diffusion of terpenes through the porous YP cell walls. We here report the development of a second generation YP encapsulated terpene technology that incorporates the stimuli-responsive control of terpene release using biodegradable pro-terpene compounds (YP pro-terpenes). YP terpenes and YP pro-terpenes were both produced, in which high levels of carvacrol, eugenol, thymol and geraniol were encapsulated. The YP pro-terpenes show higher encapsulation stability than YP terpenes due to pro-terpenes being non-volatile solids at room temperature and stable in suspensions at neutral pH. YP pro-terpenes and YP terpenes were evaluated for biological activity in antibacterial, antifungal and anthelmintic assays. The YP pro-terpenes retained the full biological activity of the parent terpene compound.
